Bill Cosby is seeking a plea deal that will allow him to avoid a trial for his alleged sexual assault crimes, a source close to the Cosby family tells Us Weekly.
"Bill Cosby is seeking a plea deal with Montgomery County DA. He and his family are very hopeful an agreement will be reached," the insider says. The Montgomery County District Attorney's Office tells Us it "cannot comment on this until a plea deal is reached and agreed upon."
According to Page Six, which was first to report the news, the 79-year-old entertainer and his family believe that he "won't be able to convince a jury to let him off." A source close to the family allegedly told the newspaper: "Cosby and his family believe he'll be eligible for a sentence of just probation ... and remove the threat of him dying in prison."
Cosby, who has been accused of sexual assault by more than 50 women in alleged incidents spanning more than four decades, faces three counts of felony indecent assault and 10 years in prison stemming from an alleged January 2004 incident involving Temple University employee Andrea Constand, who claims Cosby drugged and violated her at his home.
According to Page Six's source, the Cosby family is "hoping that the district attorney will feel as though he's won with a plea deal and they're thinking that the DA will consider Cosby's age, his medical condition, the fact that he's paid the victim on the case millions and the fact that his career is over."
In October, the former Cosby Show star's lawyers argued in court documents filed in Pennsylvania that he is "legally blind" and therefore cannot identify his accusers. "No 79-year-old blind man could possibly defend himself against a claim that he sexually assaulted someone he supposedly met once, half a century ago," the attorneys claimed in the October 27 filing.
A judge ruled on December 5 that Cosby's 2005 civil deposition, in which he admitted to at least five extramarital affairs and giving prescription sedatives to women before sex, can be used by attorneys in the case against him, according to CNN.
Cosby's trial is scheduled to begin on June 5, 2017. He has pleaded not guilty to all charges.
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